ACTING OUT

Teen Arrested for Seizing Control of Plane Over Alaska, Say State Troopers

Sixteen-year-old forced passenger plane into a nosedive.

A 16-year-old boy was arrested after he seized control of a small passenger plane over Alaska, forcing it to take a sharp incline and then nosediving back toward the ground, Alaska’s state police report. The kid, whose name hasn’t been released because he’s a minor, was reportedly seated in the front passenger seat of the light Piper Cherokee Six aircraft during the short Yute Commuter Service flight from Napakiak to Bethel in western Alaska. Alaska State Troopers say the teen grabbed the controls shortly after takeoff and caused the plane to “enter a steep climb and then a dive toward the ground.” A passenger managed to wrestle him away and the pilot regained control. The teen managed to run away after the flight returned to Napakiak but was arrested earlier this month.